On Wednesday, a former aide to two New York governors faced trial, accused of acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government while reaping financial benefits from this alleged relationship.

Linda Sun, 41, along with her husband Chris Hu, 42, were apprehended last year as part of a broader initiative targeting suspected Chinese operatives.

Authorities allege that Sun covertly advanced China’s interests during her tenure as an advisor to ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo and current Governor Kathy Hochul.

Prosecutors claim the couple received millions of dollars from the Chinese Communist Party, which funded their lavish lifestyle, including a $4 million mansion on Long Island’s affluent North Shore, a $1.9 million condo in Hawaii, and a 2024 Ferrari Roma, valued at a minimum of $243,300.

Besides financial gains, the couple reportedly enjoyed other perks, such as orchestra tickets and specialty Nanjing-style salted ducks, prepared by a Chinese official’s personal chef and delivered to Sun’s parents’ residence in New York.

“This case revolves around betrayal and greed,” Assistant US Attorney Amanda Shami stated to jurors during her opening remarks, according to a report from Newsday.

‘Betrayal by a public official, Linda Sun, who betrayed the State of New York… And greed by her husband, Chris Hu, who exploited his wife’s high-level New York State job.

‘Her loyalty was for sale and the Chinese government was willing to pay Linda Sun,’ she continued, claiming ‘the evidence will show the defendants’ greed. The evidence will show the defendants’ betrayal.’

Former New York State aide Linda Sun, 41, and her husband, Chris Hu, 42, face trial on charges she was discretely supporting China’s agenda in the state. They are pictured leaving Brooklyn Federal Court on Wednesday

Sun and her husband Chris Hu allegedly purchased a $3.6 million mansion in Manhasset, Long Island (pictured) in 2021 using cash funneled from the Chinese Communist Party

The couple are also accused of using Chinese funds to purchase a 2024 Ferrari Roma, (file photo) which sells for at least $243,300 

Sun, who immigrated to the United States as a child and is a naturalized citizen, has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging she failed to register as an agent of a foreign government, conspired with her husband to commit money laundering and helped people commit visa fraud to enter the U.S. illegally.

Hu has also pleaded not guilty to charges including money laundering, tax evasion, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of identification – and they have both pleaded not guilty to bribery charges.

As the trial got underway at the Federal District Court in Brooklyn on Wednesday, Sun’s lawyer, Jarrod L. Schaeffer, told jurors the charges ‘assault everything she’s built her life around.’

He argued that his client is a proud American and a loyal public servant who only dealt with China in an official, legal capacity, including as a liaison to the Asian community. 

‘Linda Sun did what she was hired to do. That´s what the evidence will show,’ Schaeffer said in his opening statement in Brooklyn federal court. ‘She didn’t commit a crime by doing her job.’

He went on to call Sun´s foreign agent charge ‘nonsense,’ telling jurors: ‘Linda did not have to register as a foreign agent because she is not one.’

‘None of the advice she gave was inconsistent with US foreign policy,’ he noted, according to The New York Times. 

Sun, who immigrated to the United States as a child and is a naturalized citizen, held numerous posts over a roughly 15-year career in state government, including as deputy chief of staff to New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and deputy diversity officer under former Governor Cuomo, both Democrats 

Hochul fired Sun from her administration when the allegations came to light 

In court filings ahead of the trial, Schaeffer argued the government had charged her because she and her family ‘had too much money’ and that the case is filled with ‘glaring inconsistencies.’

But federal prosecutors allege that Sun acted at the request of Chinese officials to block representatives from the Taiwanese government from having access to the governor’s office.

She also allegedly prevented a Lunar New Year message from including any reference to the detention of Uyghur Muslims in China, CNN reports.

Additionally, prosecutors say Sun once forged Hochul’s signature on invitations purporting to be from the New York State government – inviting Chinese government officials to visit the state, which the Chinese officials used to illegally obtain visas to travel to the US.

Other times, Sun allegedly obtained official New York State proclamations for Chinese government representatives without proper authorization. 

Among the evidence, Shami said, were messages showing Sun ‘bragging to the Chinese consulate’ about blocking Taiwan’s access.

‘I very much value my relationship with the consulate and have done many things to make the relationship between the state and the consulate flourish during my tenure with [Politician-1],’ she allegedly wrote in January 2019, according to a federal indictment.

‘Certainly I have managed to stop all relationships between the [Taiwan economic cultural offices] and the state. I have denied all requests from their office.’

The Chinese official then reportedly replied: ‘I know and do appreciate your help. 

‘With us now in the political section, you are the most important hub connecting us with [Politician-1] and his team.’

Based on the description in the indictment, Politician-1 refers to Cuomo. But neither he nor Hochul are accused of any wrongdoing in the case. 

Sun (left) is seen at a 2019 protest against the Taiwanese president’s visit in New York City,  federal prosecutors said

Sun is seen above being honored at a People’s Republic of China consulate event in an image included in the Department of Justice’s indictment

In return for Sun’s actions, prosecutors said, she and Hu received large payoffs and traveled to China several times.

In March 2017, Sun visited the Henan province, a trip prosecutors claim was funded by the Henan provincial government.

Then in September 2019, the couple attended celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic.

They allegedly had luxury accommodations during their trip paid for by the Chinese government, including a hotel suite in Beijing that Michelle Obama once stayed in. 

As the benefits to their relationship with China came in, prosecutors said Hu kept a spreadsheet of expected kickbacks and tried opening a bank account in his mother-in-law’s name to launder the proceeds.

In exchange, Hu allegedly got help for his seafood business in China, which prosecutors said allowed the couple to fund their lavish lifestyle.

She previously served as the DEI boss for the state of New York. She is pictured in a video in which she allegedly demanded ‘equity’ in US government

The couple also allegedly pocketed millions of dollars in kickbacks by exploiting her role on a Cuomo administration team that procured much-needed personal protective equipment as COVID-19 was taking hold in 2020.

She allegedly steered the state’s purchase of the equipment to two Chinese companies – one run by her second-cousin and the other by Hu’s business associate. 

Sun did not disclose those relationships to New York government officials, who signed contracts with the companies in March 2020 and paid them more than $44 million.

The cousin then allegedly funneled about $2.3 million back to Hu.

‘Not only did Linda Sun betray New York state government by working for the Chinese government, the defendant betrayed New Yorkers when they were most vulnerable,’ Shami told jurors.

Sun pleaded not guilty to charges alleging she failed to register as an agent of a foreign government, conspired with her husband to commit money laundering and helped people commit visa fraud to enter the U.S. illegally

In court on Wednesday, Schaeffer acknowledged his client ‘did not do a great job of filling out every form the government required her to’ as he argued that it is a ‘common cultural and political practice’ in China for government officials to give gifts.

He went on to call the assertion that salted ducks prepared by a personal chef  equated to a bribe ‘just silly,’ and dismissed Sun’s connection to the company that received PPE funds as a ‘distant cousin who was a sales manager at the company.’

Schaeffer also emphasized that Sun was responsible for coordinating the state’s purchase of PPE as the pandemic broke out in 2020 and ‘worked around the clock.’

‘This New Yorker was working for New York,’ he told jurors.

In her own opening statement, Hu’s attorney, Nicole Boeckmann, noted that the state ‘put tremendous pressure’ on Sun to purchase PPE from China.

The equipment was then ‘delivered on time at a fair price,’ she said, arguing there was no kickback scheme because there was no competition for a contract.

‘The governor was on the news everyday begging for it,’ the lawyer argued.

She concluded by urging the jury to consider what evidence the government does not have, including any images of ‘clandestine meetings’ and wiretaps of Sun ‘asking for a bribe or a kickback,’ or testimony of an ‘insider or co-conspirator.’

But over the course of the month-long trial, jurors are expected to hear from witnesses from the State Department and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as an expert on international law and political influence.

Nobody is allowed to make any references to espionage, however, after the couple’s lawyers successfully argued that any insinuations of such would be ‘profoundly misleading and unfairly prejudicial.’ 

Sun held posts in the Cuomo administration starting in 2012, and was named the chief diversity officer in 2018

Sun worked in state government for almost 15 years, first in 2009 as the chief of staff for New York State Assembly member Grace Meng, who is now a member of congress.

Sun then held posts in the Cuomo administration starting in 2012, including as Global New York Trade Manager, Asian Outreach Director for the Office of the Governor and Queens Regional Representative.

The administration named Sun as chief diversity officer in 2018.

She was appointed as the deputy chief of staff for Hochul in September 2021, according to her LinkedIn profile. She remained on the role for about 15 months. Asked about Sun at a congressional hearing in September 2024, Cuomo said: ‘She was a junior member in my team. I wouldn´t recognize her if she was in this room today.’

Hochul’s office, meanwhile, said the administration fired her after ‘discovering evidence of misconduct.’

‘This individual was hired by the Executive Chamber more than a decade ago,’ it said in a statement.

‘We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process.’